My 9-week-old puppy sits constantly. Should I check her hips?

What a cutie she is! Some dogs do lay in funny positions. If she seems to walk normally and has no lameness I wouldn't be concerned by her laying down this way, but if she hasn't been to the vet with you already I would make an appointment for them to look her over and palpate the hips to be safe, and at that time they can get her up to date on vaccines if she isn't already as well as test her for intestinal parasites and deworm her (she looks like she could be underweight based on this photo but it is difficult to say without being able to put our hands on her).

At this age, it’s hard to say- it could be either. Bernadette will need to start or continue her puppy vaccines around this age anyway, so have your vet do a good exam of the hips while you’re in for that. We really can’t diagnose hip dysplasia without xrays (unless it’s so severe that the hips are popping out of their sockets) but your vet could certainly do that at any time. Hope this helps and best wishes to you and your big puppy girl!

Basically it could be either a hip disease or a knee condition, it will need to be checked by a vet and an x-ray might be needed as well in order to confirm the diagnosis. Knee injuries usually require surgery while hip condition are often treated ssuccessfully with medications.

I would definitely recommend taking him to your veterinarian for an exam. An abnormal gait and 'popping' could be a sign of hip dysplasia causing subluxation of the hip joint. Luxating patellas, or kneecaps that pop in and out of the joint would be another possibility. You have a few more options for treatment if these joint problems are caught early, so I'd recommend making an appointment soon.

She is adorable! It is likely just her personality and excitement being with you and your dog. You may bring it to her owners attention and ask them if they have seen her sit. They could have their vet thoroughly examine her hip to ensure she doesn't have any hip pain. The vet may also want to do hip x-rays to ensure there are not problems. But this is most likely just her and not anything to worry too much about. I hope this helps!

I would recommend having Mimi evaluated by your veterinarian. Often the clicking noise we hear in the hips of puppies can be laxity or abnormal movement in their hip joints due to hip dysplasia. You vet should be able to do an exam and take some x-rays to decide if that is what is going on with Mimi. There are some treatment options that are available only in puppies, so you will want to get a diagnosis as soon as possible to make sure that you have as many treatment options as possible. I have included a handout below with more information for you. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1916 Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

What you're describing could be hip disease, spinal cord issues or even an infection. If it doesn't get better over the next few days he needs to get checked out by your veterinarian, sooner if if gets worse or he seems painful.